Ceremony to invoke blessings on C.M.B. Bogollagama
A religious ceremony to invoke blessings on late C.M.B. Bogollagama, father of former Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama was held on Wednesday. A Dharma Deshanawa by Ven Walpola Vijitha Thera was held at Shri Wapikarama Temple in Palugolla, Nikaweratiya. The Mahanayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter Ven Udugama shri Buddharakkitha Thera attended the religious event which was [...]
The worst war ever
‘World War One’ was regarded as the worst war ever in world history. It had caused the highest number of deaths and damage done than ever before in an international conflict. The casualties of world war one totalled more than 20 million. Death came in brutal forms. Men were killed by machine guns, explosive shells, [...]
‘Proud to be drug-free’: SLANA’s annual Health Run
Proud to be drug-free’ said the slogan emblazoned on their t’shirts and it was a message that the enthusiastic participants who turned up in their hundreds at the Sri Lanka Anti-Narcotics Association’s annual Health Run last Sunday were proud to proclaim. SLANA’s Health Run has been an annual feature for over 20 years having seen [...]
A new generation to lead the WNPS
The Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS), established in 1894), is one of the oldest conservation organisations in Asia. It has been at the forefront of numerous important and critical milestones in conservation in the island. At its Annual General Meeting on July 26, at the Auditorium of the Meteorological Department in Colombo, this historic [...]
Cakes 4 Gaza
Children are paying a deadly price for the conflict in Gaza; every day the number of children killed or injured is rising at an alarming rate. The civilian population is facing a dire humanitarian crisis, with widespread destruction to communication services, infrastructure and property. Hospitals are struggling to cope with the mounting toll of the [...]
Spacecraft Rosetta catches up to comet after 10-year chase
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – European spacecraft Rosetta became the first ever to catch up with a comet, a landmark stage in a decade-long space mission that scientists hope will help unlock some of the secrets of the solar system. Rosetta, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2004, will accompany comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on its trip [...]
Guide to a challenging, changing world
The second edition of Same Sky, Different Nights is being released. This work contains a biography of Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana interspersed with the fascinating and relevant history of Sri Lanka. Dr. Jasentuliyana spent the greater part of his professional life in the United Nations system in positions of increasing authority until his retirement. The first [...]
View on Private Sector: Spying tech and human rights
Last week, SciDev.Net published a story on ‘flying cars’ – lightweight vehicles with parachutes, touted as providing the transport functionality of helicopters at a fraction of the cost. The co-founder of Vaylon, the French tech company behind the Pégase car, said he envisages three main uses: military, humanitarian and leisure. In theory, Vaylon could profit [...]
Plain cigarette packs do cut smoking
Plain packaging for cigarettes could be the ‘game changer’ in seeing long-term reductions in smoking among young people, health officials have said. Public Health England (PHE) said that the evidence for the benefits of introducing standardised packing for cigarettes and other tobacco products is now ‘irrefutable’ In Australia, where the measure was introduced in December [...]
Forensic fiasco over MH 17 crash
On July 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 went down, killing all 298 people on board. The United States, Australia and European countries have suggested pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine shot it down with a “Buk missile”. Two Dutch and two Australian specialists visited the debris zone after early attempts to reach the site had been thwarted [...]
Japan moving from self-defence to collective defence
CAMBRIDGE – Since the end of World War II, Japan has been ruled by an American-written “peace constitution,” Article 9 of which prohibits war and limits Japanese forces to self-defence. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is now seeking legislation to enable Japan to reinterpret the constitution to include “collective self-defence,” whereby the country would enhance its [...]
The need to demilitarise Lanka’s post-war police
During the 1950s serious endeavours were made by the Ceylon Police, as it was then known, to break away from the colonial past and make it a people friendly service. When Osmund de Silva was the Inspector General of Police, emphasis was given to police-public relations by way of Police Gazette Notifications, outlining the courses [...]
India goes on alert for Ebola
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian authorities are on alert for the Ebola virus, the health minister said, suggesting there is a risk the deadly virus could be imported into country if the large population of Indians working in the four affected West African nations returns. There are nearly 45,000 Indian nationals living and working in [...]
Rendering two lines of the National Anthem in Tamil
At the Galle Cricket Stadium I saw a family of four fully engrossed in the Test match being played. The most unusual thing was the two children. The elder boy of about ten years was having a large ‘score book’ which he could hardly carry, but was meticulously entering the scores. He was constantly querying [...]
Israel bites hand that feeds, US feeds hand that bites
UNITED NATIONS, (IPS) – There is an age-old axiom in politics, says a cynical Asian diplomat, that you don’t bite the hand that feeds you. But that longstanding adage never applied to Israel, which although sustained militarily by the United States, has had no compunction at lashing out at Washington if the US is ever [...]
Gaza truce falls apart as more rockets fly
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories, Aug 9, 2014 (AFP) -Israeli warplanes kept up a punishing campaign of air strikes over Gaza, killing five Palestinians today as militants fired rockets into Israel and ceasefire talks in Cairo stalled. The Palestinian interior ministry said Israeli jets launched 21 strikes after midnight, destroying three mosques, one in the Zeitoun [...]
Australia may help in US airdrops in Iraq: PM
SYDNEY, Aug 9 (AFP) -Australia may participate in United States airdrops of food and water to civilians threatened by jihadist violence in Iraq, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said today. US President Barack Obama has authorised air strikes in Iraq to prevent fighters from the so-called Islamic State from moving into autonomous Kurdistan and carrying out [...]
Afghan poll rivals sign deal on unity government
KABUL (AFP) -Afghanistan’s feuding presidential candidates signed a deal Friday to form a national unity government, opening an apparent way forward in a dispute over the fraud-tainted election that threatens to revive ethnic conflict. Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah vowed to work together whoever becomes president after an ongoing audit of all eight million votes [...]
Monkey selfie sparks copyright row
LONDON (AFP) -The Wikimedia Foundation insisted it would not remove from its website a “selfie” taken by a mischievous monkey, despite claims from the British photographer whose camera was used that it breached his copyright. David Slater says he is the owner of the photo of the grinning black crested macaque that went viral when [...]
